


In lak'ech

by CaramelShipper



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:55:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25603165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaramelShipper/pseuds/CaramelShipper
Summary: Taking his students' best interest at heart, Albus Dumbledore decided they needed a multicultural view of the world. So, what's better than to create a new curriculum based off the mysterious cultures from across the ocean? Maybe from someone who knew about the magical jungles of Latin America? Dumbledore knew just who to hire: Magical Anthropologist Mariana Mondragón! Graduating top of her class, this 26 year old woman rose fast through her field and had become the best in her area within a matter of years. Eager for a new adventure, and the challenge of teaching young minds about her ancient culture, she embarks on the journey to Hogwarts... but what will happen when she meets a certain professor with a furry little problem?Set during Prisoner of Azkaban.
Relationships: Remus Lupin & Original Female Character(s), Remus Lupin/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 27
Kudos: 52





	1. Mariana Mondragón, pleased to meet you

**Author's Note:**

> In lak'ech ( _In-lack-ehsh_ ): You are my other me. (Mayan)  
> Naualiui (blending of the Nahuatl words _Nahualotl_ (magic) and _poliui_ (lack of))
> 
> Everything related to the magical schools outside Europe, is mine. I invented the Mexican Magical school because I refuse to go to Ilvermorny or Castelobruxo.
> 
> The Aztec Empire and the Mayan Empire are different things. The Aztec Empire was located towards the center of Mexico an up towards the South of the US, while the Mayan Empire was located in the South of Mexico and some countries in Central America. (Yes, Mexico is part of North America. Don’t fight me on this.)
> 
> Nahuatl is the language the Aztec Empire spoke. Mayan is the language the Mayans spoke. There are parts of Mexico which still use these languages. Most of the things in a language that isn’t English or Spanish, are going to be in Nahuatl (some words I invented them blending words in Nahuatl), because it didn’t take Spain that much to conquer them. It took them almost 100 years to conquer the Mayans after they conquered the Aztecs.
> 
> Also, for my people out there who think everyone who’s Mexican is brown. We’re not all brown. We were dominated by a White European country for over 300 years. There’s such a thing as white mexicans. We exist. I’m very proud of my country, my culture and my people, but I just had to get that out.
> 
> Also, no Remus yet, sorry :( But he'll be here in the near future!

Contrary to popular belief, there is a magical school in every country outside of Europe. 

Magic in Mexico, however, is different from magic in other countries. While European countries only have one type of magic, Mexico has two. Yes. Two types of magic. It all took place back in the early 1500s, when the Spaniards conquered Mexico for over 300 years.

Unlike the British colonies, the Spanish didn't eradicate the natives. The Spanish actually married them and had children with them. This resulted in a mixture of both cultures and, therefore, a mixture of magical abilities. Nowadays, every witch and wizard in big cities like Monterrey up in the north, Mérida in the south, or Mexico City in the center of the country uses a mixture of both magics without even thinking about it. While, in the towns where the vast majority (if not the whole population) of the inhabitants are Mayans or Aztecs (or other native groups), they tend to stick to their old magic, but still use the new one sometimes.

This creates a beautiful blend of magic, history, culture, and traditions that mexican people still use to this day.

The pyramids and temples left by the ancient cultures before the Spaniards arrived and destroyed most of them, are now considered “touristic spots”. What the non-magical people don’t know is that there is one location where the young witches and wizards from all over the country study there. The ancient city of _Teotihuacán_ ; nahualt for “city of the gods”; was chosen by the mexican wizards as the new school their children needed. Where both magics - Spanish and Mexican - could be taught to the young witches and wizards of the country.

While the four pyramids that formed the city were charmed so the nonmagical people could visit them without seeing or feeling the members of the staff and student body, there were classes inside the rooms magically built for the school. Students and staff slept on the underground “city” built just for them. Underneath _La Ciudadela_ , the big court in the center of the ancient city (where students played Quidditch), was the Dining Hall. And, since this city was the biggest and one of the most sacred places of the Aztec Empire, they decided to transform it into _Tlahtiminitepelt_ : The Mexican School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Tlahtiminitepelt, if you’re wondering, translates to “the mountain of the wise”. School’s motto? “ _La magia te llevará a la sabiduría_ ” Magic will lead you to wisdom.

Now, you may be asking yourself, “why do I need to know this stuff?” Well, because our story revolves around Mexican magic, and around how a young witch uses it. But I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s start from the beginning, shall we?

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 _"¡Ya llegué, mami!"_ (I’m home, mom!)

 _"¡Que bueno, mija! La comida ya casi está lista."_ (That’s good, honey! Lunch is almost ready!)

Mariana kissed her mother's cheek as she entered the kitchen, setting her bag on the chair and turning to help her mother with plates, cutlery and glasses for lunch. Being a naualiui _(nah-wa-lee-wee)_ \- a nonmagical person - , Mariana’s mother didn’t appreciate when her children and husband used magic around the house. _“La magia es para la escuela y el trabajo, no en la casa!”_ Magic is only for school and work, not in the house, she always says. The most magic usage she allows is when her husband and eldest daughter apparated and disapparated to go to and from work.

 _“¿Cómo te ha ido en le trabajo?”_ (How’s work doing?) Her mother asked, taking the hot pot of soup towards the table. 

_“Bien, todo normal. Claudia no terminó su reporte a tiempo acerca del pueblo al sur de la ciudad, entonces atrasó todo nuestro proceso.”_ (Good, all the same. Claudia didn’t finish her report on that town South from the city, so she made us all go behind schedule.) Mariana replied, serving the soup on the two bowls on the table. Her siblings were out for summer holidays, spending their time at a friend’s house in Puerto Vallarta, enjoying their summer vacations at the beach. 

Her father; César Mondragón; worked at the wizarding bank, almost getting the title of director. He’s been working there ever since he graduated Tlahtiminitepelt back in 1958, when he was 18 years old. He met Ana Laura when he was walking back home from a stroll in the park in 1962. They love telling their children the story of how Ana Laura almost had a heart attack when César showed her magic was real, but their love was too strong to let that tear them apart. And so, in 1965, they got married. And, in 1967, they welcomed Mariana, their first born and didn’t stop until they had 3 beautiful and magical kids to create their chaotic but loving family.

Mariana always had a love for magic, mysteries and the culture of her country. So, to the surprise of no one, she became a magical anthropologist for the Mexican Ministry of Magic. Her job entailed going around the country, studying the lives and cultures of the magical community inside the indigenous villages. How they used magic for their daily lives and how they kept it hidden from the naualiuis in the village.  
She was so dedicated and passionate to her job, that it didn’t take her long to go up the ranges and be one of the best anthropologists the Ministry had ever seen.

Her brother - Patricio, 17 - and sister - Laura - 14 - were still enrolled in school, but were sure not to follow their family’s footsteps. Patricio was on his way to enter the big leagues of the Mexican Quidditch team, and Laura wanted to be a healer when she was done with school.

As mother and daughter kept chatting about their day, they were interrupted by small tapings on the window. Both women turned and were surprised to see a big, grey owl sitting on the window sill.

Standing up, the black haired woman made her way to the window and opened it, letting the owl in. The animal seemed to be taking deep breaths, clearly exhausted, as it lifted its right leg up to show Mariana the letter rolled up and tied to it.

 _“¿Esperabas algo?”_ (Were you expecting something?) Ana Laura asked, standing up to fetch some water for the tired bird. Said bird flew towards the kitchen cabinet, where water and treats were ready for him to take.

Mariana, reading her name written on the envelope, turned it around to see the wax seal shutting the envelope did she realize that this letter was not a small deal.

 _“Déjalo que descanse, mami. Viene desde Escocia.”_ (Let him rest, mom. He’s flown all the way from Scotland) She said as she walked towards the owl, petting his head softly as it drank.

 _“¿Cómo que el tecolote viene desde Escocia? ¿No se habrá equivocado?”_ (How come the owl comes from Scotland? Maybe he made a mistake?)

Mariana shrugged and opened the envelope, taking the parchment paper out of it.

_Dear Ms. Mondragón:_

_This letter is to invite you to form part of our school's faculty body as the first American instructor with the end to give our students a broader look at both culture and magic of the world. It came to my attention that you possess the qualifications as well as the talent that exceed all of our expectations. We sincerely hope you accept our request and help our school give our students the first taste of the vast world of magic that only you could do._

_Sincerely,_  
_Albus Dumbledore_  
_Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_P.S.: If you're willing to accept, please come to meet us on the 10th of July at 1 o’clock our time._

Mariana stared at the letter with wide, dark brown eyes. She was in shock that a school like freaking Hogwarts wanted her in their staff. _They want **me**? How? Why?_

Ana Laura stared at her daugther with wide eyes, becoming more worried from the state of her daughter.

 _“¿Y pues? ¿Qué dice la carta?”_ (So? What does the letter say?). This made Mariana snap out of her shell shocked state and turn to look at her mom. But her eyes were still wide.

 _“Me están ofreciendo trabajo en Escocia, mamá.”_ (They’re offering me a job in Scotland, mom.)


	2. Hello, Professor Dumbledore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I based Ana Laura on my mom, but made her 10 times sweeter than her lol 
> 
> In Mexico (and most of Latin America, I think), we have two last names :) First is our dad’s and then our mom’s.
> 
> Also, if you want to have a better picture of Mariana, I based her looks on Martha Higareda.
> 
> I know this stuff is kinda boring, but it's just the beginning. I promise it'll get better as it goes on. I apologize in advance, writing in Hagrid's accent is **so hard**. 
> 
> Also, Mariana's last name is Mondragón, but I've written it here like "Mondragon" because, well, everyone who doesn't speak Spanish is misspronouncing it lol Mariana'll explain how to pronounce it correctly later on.
> 
> No Remus yet, but I promise he'll make an appereance later on!

To say that Mariana was nervous was an understatement. She woke up at 4:30 that morning, too excited to even sleep. After letting the owl rest for a couple of hours, she replied to Dumbledore’s letter with one of her own, letting him know that she was thrilled to see him, and that she’ll be at the castle at the time he asked her to.

Now, a week later, Mariana felt like throwing up. She didn’t know why she was even nervous, she’s never actually been a teacher before. 

Maybe because one of the greatest wizards in the whole history of the wizarding world wanted her to work for **him.**

_Yeah, because that makes this **so** much easier, Mariana._

At 6:15 that morning, Mariana made her way down the stairs and towards the kitchen, where her mother was standing at the stove, the coffee machine just turned on.

 _“¡Buenos días, mija! Te preparé unos hotcakes para que desayunes.”_ (Good morning, honey! I made you some pancakes for breakfast.) She said, setting a pancake on a plate. _“Hay jugo de naranja en el refrigerador.”_ (There’s orange juice in the fridge.)

Mariana smiled at her mother as she set the plate down on the table, then walked to the fridge to get the juice. She wasn’t sure if she could actually eat something at the moment, what with her stomach feeling queasy, but knowing her mother woke up at least 2 hours earlier than she normally did to make breakfast, made her at least try. And so, she sat down with a glass half full of orange juice and a plate with 3 thick pancakes in front of her.

 _“¿Estás lista?”_ (Are you ready?) Ana Laura asked with a smile, taking a sip from her mug. Tea, most probably.

Mariana shrugged, taking a forkfull of pancake into her mouth. _“No sé, mami. Estoy muy nerviosa, siendo honesta.”_ (I don’t know, mom. I’m very nervous, to be honest.)

 _“Me duele la panza, siento que voy a vomitar. ¡No podía dormir anoche!”_ (My tummy hurts, I feel like throwing up. I couldn’t sleep last night!)

Ana Laura stared at Mariana with what could be called a “mother’s look”. Eyes so full of love, honesty, and over all, pride. A big, loving smile spread on her face as she looked at her daughter.

 _“¿Por qué estás nerviosa?”_ (Why are you nervous?) She asked her, taking the plate away from Mariana and picking from it.

 _“No sé. Nunca he dado clases, mamá. ¿Qué les puedo enseñar? ¡No sé trabajar con adolescentes!”_ (I don’t know. I’ve never taught a class, mom. What can I teach them? I don’t know how to work with teenagers!) Mariana said, running her fingers through her black hair.  
_“Y, por si fuera poco, me va a entrevistar uno de los mejores magos de la historia, mamá!”_ (And, to top it all of, I’m being interviewed by one of the best wizards in history, mom!)

Ana Laura just stared at her daughter, then broke the silence.

“Mariana Cecilia Mondragón González,” Ana Laura started, making Mariana snap her head up to look at her. _“Eres la mejor de tu área en el ministerio. Si alguien en Escocia se enteró de eso, es por que de verdad lo eres.”_ (You are the best in your area at the ministry. If someone in Scotland heard about it, it’s because it’s true). She took her daughter’s hand in hers and squeezed it. _“No hay nadie mejor que tú, ten confianza en tí misma.”_ (There’s no one better than you, have faith in yourself.)

Mariana smiled at her mother, truly believing her words. She turned to look at the clock on the wall.

6:45 am.

 _“Chin, ya me tengo que ir.”_ (Shoot. I gotta go.) Mariana said standing up, grabbing her purse and taking her wand out of it. 

Ana Laura hugged Mariana and kissed her cheek. _“Te va a ir super bien, vas a ver. Te veo para la comida?”_ (You’re going to be great. You’ll see. I’ll see you for lunch?)

Mariana nodded, right hand gripping her wand and pictured a place called Hogsmeade. She made some gestures with her wand and, with the sound of thunder, she disapparated from the kitchen, leaving Ana Laura alone.

 _“Odio cuando hacen eso.”_ (I hate when they do that). Ana Laura sighed and kept on eating the pancakes Mariana left.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mariana apparated in the center of a small village, and instantly started looking around for a place called “The Three Broomsticks”. Professor Dumbledore had said in his letter back that someone will be waiting for her outside that place, but there was not a single person around.

 _I wonder who Rubeus Hagrid is,_ Mariana thought, standing close to the door.

Mariana was wearing a white button up blouse tucked inside dark high waisted dress pants. Her long brown hair was picked up into a half updo, the curls reaching her mid back. Her shoes were a pair of black ballerina flats.She did her makeup natural, just a bit of eyeliner, mascara and some nude lipstick.

A few minutes passed, and Mariana was wondering where this Rubeus person was. She checked her magical watch. It was designed to change to the time zone of wherever she was (seeing as there two in Mexico, it came quite useful). 12:55. She bit her lower lip in worry. If he didn’t get there, she’d have to ask for directions on how to get to Hogwarts and hope she didn’t get lost. 

“Miss Mondragon!” 

Mariana turned, and was surprised to see a very tall - almost gigantic - man with long bushy hair and beard waving at her with a huge smile on his face.

“Mr. Hagrid?” She asked, to which the big man’s smile became brouder and nodded his head.

“Professor Dumbledore sen’ me ter get yer ter Hogwarts, miss. Let’s go.” 

Mariana followed Hagrid up a hill, so happy she decided to go with flats instead of heels. When they reached the top of the hill, she couldn’t help but gasp in shock. 

“Beautiful, innit?” 

Mariana could only nod. While her school was made by four beautiful pyramids and she absolutely loved the architecture and history inside their walls, the Hogwarts castle was a beauty in its own way.

Hagrid kept on walking, and Mariana had to run to catch up with his large steps. When they reached the front door, an older woman wearing wizard robes and a stern look on her face was waiting for them.

“Miss Mondragon, I guess.” 

“Mariana, pleasure to meet you.” Mariana stretched her hand in front of her, a smile sketched on her face. The woman shook her hand and, with a small smile, replied. “Minerva Mcgonagall”

“Please, follow me. I’ll take you to Professor Dumbledore’s office.” With that, the huge doors opened and Minerva walked in. Mariana walked a little bit behind her, but close to her.

Mariana was in awe as they walked, admiring the beauty of the castle. She tried to be discreet about it, but she had a feeling she was failing at that.

Minerva stopped walking when they reached a statue of a hippogriff and, after saying a loud voice “Salted Caramel”, the statue started to turn and in its place was a staircase.

“Professor Dumbledore's office is up those stairs”, she said. “And good luck, miss Mondragón.”

Mariana smiled and made her way up the stairs, until she walked into a door and knocked.

A faint “come in” answered her, and she opened the door to enter a circular office with walls covered in books, and there was a… phoenix?

“Ah, I see you made it safely, Miss Mondragon.” She heard to her right, and turned towards a set of stairs where an older man with a long beard, half moon spectacles, and purple wizard robes stood.

 _Oh my God…_ Mariana thought, _It’s Albus Dumbledore...._

“Hello, sir.” She said, trying hard to keep herself from smiling a bit too much.

“Please, come to my office. My desk is up here.” Dumbledore turned his back to her and walked up the stairs. 

Mariana walked quickly and reached the desk, sitting on one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore’s desk. Her stomach was making flips.

“I’ve read some of your work, miss Mondragon, and I can say I’m quite impressed.”

“Thank you, sir.” Mariana said, but on the inside she was saying _**OH MY GOD**_

“Yes, very specific. Very professional and it’s beautifully written. I dare say, you love your culture?”

“I do, sir. I love my country’s culture, history, and people.” Mariana smiled, her hands trembling on her lap.

Dumbledore smiled.

“And that is the reason why I think you’re perfect for my new… project, if you may.”

“May I ask, sir, what is this project about?”

“You see, miss Mondragon, I think the students at Hogwarts need a… multicultural view of the world. See that there are witches and wizards from other parts of the world. So I started searching all over the world for a witch or wizard who could be a perfect candidate for that post. And I came across your reports. I may be biased, of course, since I find the mysteries of Latin America quite intriguing myself.”

Mariana’s eyes widened in surprise. She wasn’t expecting this, to be honest.

“So… you want me to teach students about my country?”

“For this term, yes. Is Mexico the only country you researched?”

“My specialty is Mexico, sir. But I’ve travelled to some countries in Central America. The Mayans are also in Guatemala, and some are in Belize and El Salvador.”

“You’d have liberty of what to teach and how to teach it, miss Mondragon. It is, after all, your area of expertise.”

Mariana was, well, overwhelmed, to say the least. She really liked the idea of sharing her culture with younger minds. Clearly, Dumbledore could see she was thinking really hard about it.

“You don’t have to say yes if you’re not sure, miss Mondragon. But, I would be more than happy to have you be part of my staff. The pay is not much, I’m sad to say. But you’ll have your own classroom, your own office and your own room. Three meals a day and, if you ever feel the need for a snack, you’ll have access to the kitchens. The elves prepare a very delicious cauldron cake, if I say so myself.”

“I’m honoured, Professor Dumblredore, really. I don’t really know what to say.”

“Ah yes. Words sometimes escape us. Just say what your heart feels. I find that works best when words fail me.”

Mariana stared at the old man in front of her and, with a smile and a gleam in her eyes, she said “I’d love to, Professor.”

Dumbledore’s smile grew and, sticking his hand out for her to shake, said “Very good choice, miss Mondragon.”

Mariana shook his hand and both got up. He walked her towards the door of his office. “Professor McGonagall will be down the stairs to take you back to the front door, where Hagrid will take you back to Hogsmeade so you can apparate back to Mexico City.” 

“Thank you, Professor.” Mariana was about to open the door, when Dumbledore’s voice stopped her.

“I would recommend you come back to Hogwarts on the 16th of August, so you can set your office and room to your liking, as well as getting to know the castle, and plan your new curriculum.” Mariana nodded.

“And, miss Mondragon,” He said, a smile on his face. “Welcome to Hogwarts.”


	3. Diagon Alley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tenochkoyan ( _teh-nosh-koh-yan_ ): “bank of Tenochtitlán” (Teh-nosh-tea-tlahn). Blend of the words _“tlakoualokoyan”_ (bank) and _“Tenochtitlán”_. Tenochtitlán used to be the capital of the Aztec Empire before they got colonized by Spain. Mexico City is over it nowadays.
> 
> So, today’s a full moon. I **had** to post a chapter today! I mean, I posted one on Harry’s birthday, this is a big date, too!
> 
> Ana Laura teaching Mariana how to make tortillas and salsa was **exactly** what my mom did when I studied abroad back in college.
> 
> I really didn’t know how many students there were per year at Hogwarts, and according to my research, there were 40 students in Harry’s year (including Harry), so we’ll leave it in 40.

Mariana hadn’t told her boss at the Ministry about her new job at Hogwarts until a couple of days later. He wasn’t too happy to let her go, but knew it was a one in a lifetime opportunity, and wished her the best.

Between packing, spending time with her family, Ana Laura teaching her how to make tortillas and salsa ( _“¿Cómo que no vas a comer tortillas allá? No no no.”_ “There’s no way you’re not having tortillas. No no no.”), and training her replacement at the anthropology department, Mariana was frequently in the Ministry's library, browsing through all of the books it contained for something she could use for her class ahd _hope_ there was an English version for her to use. Since Dumbledore said she had freedom of choosing what to teach, she needed a book that could help her. Thankfully, there was an author who she could use. Salvador Nieto was one - if not the best - magical historians and anthropologists in the history of Mexican wizarding world, and his books were translated into 5 other languages.

And so, by August the 15th, Mariana was ready to embark on her next adventure. During the month between her interview and her time to go to Hogwarts, Dumbledore wrote to her to tell her she could floo herself to the castle, so she wouldn’t have trouble with her trunk and other belongings that would be difficult to apparate with or to travel with through a portkey.  
The problem with that was that not many houses in Mexico had chimineas. The good thing was that her grandmother’s old house had one, so Dumbledore connected it to the Floo Network, and on Monday, August the 16th at 2 o'clock in the morning Mexico City time (much to Ana Laura’s complaining that it was too late for that), just a couple of days before her siblings’ time to go back to school, Mariana said goodbye to her family with a trunk full of clothes, shoes, books, and pictures of her family and friends at her side.

She appeared in Professor Dumbledore’s office after a wall of green fire went down. Standing in front of her, were Dumbledore, Hagrid and Professor McGonagall. 

“Good morning, miss Mondragon. We’re glad to see you arrived fine and well.” Dumbledore smiled.

“Good morning, professor Dumbledore, professor McGonagall, Mr. Hagrid.” She replied, nodding at each of them with a smile on her face.

“Lemme help yeh with yer trunk, professor.” Hagrid said, taking her trunk like it weighed nothing. “I’ll leave it in yer bedroom.” With that, he left Dumbledore’s office. 

_I have to get used to being called ‘professor’_ , Mariana thought.

“Ah, that reminds me,” Dumbledore said, walking to his desk behind them. “This is for you.” 

He opened a drawer, got out an envelope and handed it to Mariana. The envelope had her name on it, and behind it, sealing it, was a wax sealed “M”.  
Mariana opened it and found her working permit and a letter from the Minister himself, permitting her to work and live in Great Britain.

“I guess now it’s legal for me to be here.” Mariana joked, making Dumbledore and McGonagall chuckled.

“Yes, it’s legal now.” Dumbledore said. “I also opened a vault for you at Grigotts bank. I couldn’t get your key, so you’d have to go Diagon Alley to retrieve it. Did you find a book for your students to use during lessons, miss Mondragon?”

“Oh, yes.” She replied, looking into her purse and pulling a book out. “I actually bought it back home. The author is amazing.” She gave Dumbledore the book so we could check it. “And um, I don’t want to sound rude or anything, professor, but you’ve been saying my name wrong.” She said sheepishly.

“Oh.” Dumbledore’s eyes were wide. “I’m terribly sorry. How is it pronounced?”

“You stress the ‘on’, actually. It’s ‘Mon-drag- _ **ON**_ ’.”

“I’ll make sure to remember that.”

“But, please, professor, call me Mariana. You’re my boss now and we’re going to see a lot of each other for a while.” She looked over to McGonagall. “Same to you, professor McGonagall.” 

Both Dumbledore and McGonagall smiled, nodding their heads.

“While you’re at Diagon Alley, please go to Flourish and Blotts, and give them this letter and show them the book. They still have time to order them so the students can get them with the rest of their school supplies.” He said as he wrote down on a piece of parchment, giving it to her with the book.

“Do you have a robe and a witch hat, Mariana?” McGonagall asked, to which Mariana shook her head.

“Then I would recommend you go to Madame Malkin’s, as well.You will need them for the welcome feast in September.”

“I’ll do that, thank you. Um,” Mariana said. “What is Diagon Alley?”

“Hagrid can take you, if you want.” 

“I’d appreciate that, thank you.”

“Well, Minerva will show you to your classroom, where your office and bedroom are, too. I’m sure you’d like to rest for a moment, given it is past midnight in Mexico CIty.”

“I’m not really tired, professor. If Hagrid is not busy, I could go to Diagon Alley now and then go to my room, if that’s alright?”

“By all means. Minerva, could you please take her to Hagrid’s hut and ask him to take professor Mondragón to Diagon Alley?”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Professor Dumbledore said yer ter go ter Gringotts firs’, right?” Hagrid asked and Mariana nodded as they walked through the not so busy street.

Following Hagrid wasn’t that hard. He was so tall she wouldn’t lose track of him, but he did take very big steps for her 5’2 frame to catch.

They entered a big white building, goblins were sitting at every counter. Mariana followed Hagrid to the back of the room, where an even angrier looking goblin sat.

“Professor Mondragon is ‘ere to pick up ‘er key to ‘er vault.” Hagrid said, then took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to the goblin. The goblin opened it, read it, and then turned to look at Mariana.

“Does miss Mondragon have an identification?”

Mariana was happy she didn’t go to her room at that moment, as she had her work permit in her purse. She gave it to the goblin who looked it over and returned it to her.

“Wait here.”

Not even 2 minutes later, the goblin was back. 

“This is the key to your vault. You can access and retrieve money whenever you get some.”

“Thank you. I was wondering, is there a way to transfer what’s in my vault back in Tenochkoyan? The bank in Mexico City?” 

The goblin seemed to have glared at her, but she stood her stance. She needed that money. She brought some with herself just in case, but she really needed to transfer it.

“We have to owl them a letter with your signature where you consent that we move your gold.”

“Um, yes. I’ll sign it. When can you have the letter ready?”

“Be back in two days.” The goblin said and turned back to look down at the parchment on his counter, dismissing both Hagrid and Mariana.

“Um, thank you.” With that, the pair left the bank. 

“Yeh want ter transfer yer money over ‘ere?” Hagrid asked.

“Yeah. Thank Merlin all countries in the Wizarding World use the same currency. It’ll be crazy to change it.” Mariana smiled and Hagrid nodded, thinking about it.

Hagrid then took her to Flourish and Blotts, where she showed the book and letter to the shopkeeper, who, after seeing Dumbledore’s signature, sighed and mumbled under his breath “of course he’d open a new subject with a very difficult book to find.”

Mariana blushed, but she knew the book was, in fact, not difficult to find.

They walked towards Madam Malkin’s, where she asked for a simple robe and a hat, nothing too fancy.

“Do I have to wear this every day?” Mariana asked Hagrid as she checked the three different robes Madam Malkin brought over.

“Nah. Yeh jus’ need one fer the welcome feas’ and the End of the Year feas’. Other than that, yer fine.” Hagrid replied from his seat at the front of the store.

Mariana tried on the three robes, and went with a simple black robe with a small hood and a clip on the front to tie it at her collarbone. Then she saw a small, discreet black pointed hat with a wide brim, and she knew that was the one.

After paying for her things, she turned to Hagrid with a smile. “I think we’re done here, Hagrid. We can go back.”

Hagrid smiled and stood up, opening the door for her.

“Let’s go home, professor.”


	4. Welcome to Hogwarts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I’ve got a kinda sad note here. I’m a teacher and we just started school (teachers - not students yet) so I may not be able to update as frequently as I've been.  
> I’ll try, but it won’t be every two-three days.
> 
> I’ll still work on both stories (In lak’ech and Indelebilis Amoris), I’m working on a schedule on when to upload them, I don’t know if I’ll update each once a week (like Thursdays for In lak’ech and Mondays for Indelebilis Amoris) or update one week each (like, one week In lak’ech, the next week Indelebilis Amoris). I’m not sure yet, but I’ll work on it through the week. But please tell me what you think! I’m open to suggestions :)
> 
> If anyone’s wondering, Cihuacoatl is one of the earlier versions of La Llorona. So yes. La Llorona is at Hogwarts. No, she isn’t going to drown anyone, I promise. La Llora, in the original legend, wasn’t a murdering ghost but she warned people of tragedies that would happen.
> 
> And Nezahualpilli was the king of Texcoco, part of the Aztec Empire. and a great wizard from before La Conquista. It is said he had premonitions of what would happen to the Aztec Empire. He tried to tell Moctemuza, the king of Tenochtitlán (and all of the Aztec Empire), that his political decisions would bring nothing but bad things to the Empire, but Moctezuma thought Nezahualpilli was trying to get his throne, so Moctemuza had someone kill Nezahualpilli for that.
> 
> Please leave a comment! I love hearing from you guys! 
> 
> Happy reading!

Mariana finished decorating her classroom on the 31st of August. She hung maps of the American continent, on just Latin America, and of Mexico. She had moving posters of some Aztec warriors and Mayan healers. She made her classroom, well, Latin America.

That Wednesday morning, the 1st of September, Mariana was so excited for the students to arrive. She knew that the students wouldn’t arrive until nightfall and her class wasn’t going to be until the next day, but that didn’t stop her from being excited.

After a small breakfast at the kitchens (and teaching the elves how to make tortillas and salsa), she walked around the castle. She’s been living at Hogwarts for almost 3 weeks now, but every day she learned something new about the amazingly big castle. 

“Good morning Professor Mondragon.” A voice greeted her as soon as she was about to open the doors of her bedroom.

“Good morning Sir Nick.” Mariana said with a forced smile. She knew what he was after and quite frankly she had had enough of being cupid for him. 

“Is Miss Cihuacoatl available for lunch today?” Sir Nick asked as he fixed his head from this side to that. _Jesus. Ghosts and their quirks_ , Mariana thought. She saw the tiny trek of water coming from below her door. Probably doesn’t want to do anything with him.

“Um...she is a bit indisposed right now.” Mariana answered, thinking for an excuse. “You know, lamenting her kids today as well.”

“Oh. I see.” Nick deflated. Is that even possible for a ghost? “Well, tell her I hope she has a good lamenting. See you in a few hours Miss Mondragon.”

“See you in a few, Sir Nick.” Mariana said and the ghost went floating away. _How did I end up in this mess?_ Having a ghost somehow hitchhiking on her bag as soon as she Flooed to Hogwarts had been more of a curse than a blessing. Cihuacoatl was quite nice to have around, another Mexican and a prehispanic one at that was beneficial for her. She had been quite nice and a gentle confidant to have around. But Sir Nick and his infatuation with her had been a headache, especially since he didn’t understand Cihuacoatl’s strange way of flirting. 

“If only she knew how to speak English, it will be easier to tell Sir Nick to tone it down a little,” Mariana muttered. _“O si aceptara salir a una cita con él en lugar de esconderse!”_ (Or if she said yes to a date instead of hiding away!) This she said a bit louder.

_“¡Ayyyy! Me da pena.”_ (Ayyyyy! It’s embarrassing!)The ghostly girl said as she melted into the corridor.

_“¡Aaaayy! No me importa.”_ (Ayyyy! I don’t care.) Mariana answered mockingly, with a bit of defiance. _“De verdad necesitas hacer algo con Nick. Me vuelve loca cada vez que te quiere invitar a salir...”_ (You really need to do something about Nick. He drives me crazy every time he wants to ask you out…)  
_“¡Aaaay! Lo sé.”_ (Ayyy! I know). The ghost lamented as she floated alongside Mariana as they walked by. The young professor wished to check once more the decoration of her classroom. Her first class was tomorrow and everything had to be perfect. 

_¡“Pues haz algo, amiga!”_ (Well do something about it, girl!) Mariana stressed. _“¿Yo que sé? ¡Llora más fuerte! Quien sabe, capaz y eso es algo que le gusta?”_ (I don’t know, cry louder! Who knows, maybe he likes that?)

_“¡AAAAYYY! ¡NOOO!!! ¿Cómo crees?”_ (AAAAY! NOO! How can you say that?)

_“¿Quizá? En fin, haz algo o le digo que ya no chingue. Dios, necesito un día tranquilo. Hoy llegan los alumnos y me muero de-”_ (Maybe? Anyway, do something about it or I’ll tell him to stop fucking around. God, I need a relaxing day. Students get here today and I’m dying of-)

_“¡NO DIGAS ESO!”_ (DON’T SAY THAT!)

_“...Perdón. Me comen los nervios.”_ (... Sorry. Nerves are eating me up).

Cihuacoatl didn’t like it when people used “death” as a matter of speaking, why with being dead and all, but she needed to get used to it, to be honest.

The classroom was, as expected, spotless. With some nice posters and some sculptures of prehispanic beasts and creatures, everything was as it should be. Educational. Graphic. Culturalistic. Her mother will be proud of her effort. She was worried about one teeny tiny detail. It was graphic, yes...but too graphic. Mexican, ancient Mexican culture was bloody. Way too bloody. Some of the classroom decorations depicted detailed drawings of temples built with skulls encrusted in them or the graphic drawing of ancient gods eating the hearts and wearing the skins of their sacrifices as clothes. All in all. Educational. Yes. Very. But graphic. It wasn’t dark. No. Not dark magic. She knew of that nasty side of the spectrum and Latin magic wasn’t that. Although dark in its appearance, it was not evil in its intent. After all, magic is all about intent.

_“Que de aquí salgan bien preparados.”_ (From this room, they leave prepared)She said proudly. Her culture was after all one of fighters and no pushovers. She hoped her class could actually help the students come out a little stronger both mentally and emotionally. _“Si no los traumo, claro. Que aquí me veo bien buena onda pero soy estricta...Nezahualpilli, me siento mal.”_ (If I don’t traumatize them, of course. Because I seem cool but I’m strict… Nezahualpilli, I feel sick.)  
_“¡No te hagas loca! ¡Limpia toda esa agua que tiraste!”_ (Don’t play dumb! You have to clean all that water up!) Mariana shouted at the ghost who just floated away into her room. _“¡Y no se te ocurra hacer berrinches cuando estén aquí los niños! ¡No quiero que asustes ni mojes a nadie! Si ya de por si tuve que explicarle a Dumbledore que no vas a matar a nadie…”_ (And don’t even think of through tantrums when the kids are here! I don’t want you scaring anyone or getting them wet! I had to explain to Dumbledore that you’re not murdering anyone…)

Someone clearing their throat made her jump and turn, seeing Professor Dumbledore standing at the door of her office with a smile on his face.

“I see Miss Cihuacoatl is already making herself at home,” He said, looking around at her office and classroom. Her office had flowers and plants from Mexico, enchanted to survive in the Scottish weather, and of course some statues and more posters of ancient Aztec art. “As have yourself, Mariana.”

Mariana shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know about Cihua, but I sure have.” She said with a smile.

“Ah yes, I think the elves are very excited about trying the new recipes they’ve learned.”

Mariana chucked at that, clearly, the elves liked the idea of new things to cook from other cultures. She told them to just make them for her, though. She was pretty sure not everyone - especially people from this side of the world - wasn’t used to the amount of spice she had in her food. She even asked Hagrid if she could grow some chiles and peppers in his garden for the elves to harvest.

“How are you feeling about tonight?” Dumbledore asked her in a calm voice.

“I’m excited. Nervous, but excited. I can’t wait to meet everyone.” She replied with a small smile.

Dumbledore nodded. “I’m glad that’s how you feel. I came to tell you that you’ll be teaching third years only this school year, Mariana. Next term you’ll teach third and fourth years, and so forth. You’ll have around 40 students this year.” He said, handing her a piece of parchment. It was her class schedule.

_Monday/Wednesday/Friday: Gryffindor/Slytherin. 10:00 am-10:45 am_  
_Tuesday/Thursday: Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw. 2:00pm-3:45pm_

“Thank you, Professor.” 

“There will be a staff meeting at half-past 1 in my office today. There are some announcements I have to tell all of you.”

“Thank you, Professor. I’ll be there.”

“I shall leave you, then. Have a good day.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At 1:30, Mariana was sitting down surrounded by her fellow teachers. To her right was Minerva, and to her left was a man she hasn’t seen that much of. Long black hair, a hooked nose, and an ever-present frown on his face.

“Good day, everyone. As you may know, Sirius Black escaped Azkaban around a month ago,” Dumbledore said with a serious tone to his voice. “And most probably is making his way here. The Ministry, against my advice, decided to set dementors around the school to capture him if he ever sets foot even close to the school, so I ask you to be careful around the school grounds.”

As everyone nodded, Mariana couldn’t help but be confused. She knew what Azkaban was - who didn’t, to be honest - but she didn’t know who Sirius Black was and what was so special about him. She’ll have to ask later, then.

“Albus, who is going to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts this year?” 

This made Dumbledore smile. “Ah, I think most of you know him and will be very happy to see him again. I just talked to him yesterday and he accepted, that is why he isn’t here right now. But he’ll arrive in the Hogwarts Express with the students today.”

“Well, who is it?” 

“Remus Lupin accepted my proposal.”

Her colleagues smiled and nodded, except for Severus. He tensed up just a bit as he heard the news. 

“Very well,” Dumbledore sighed. “Students will be here at 7 o’clock, and the feast will start at 8. Please be at the Great Hall at quarter to 7. Good day, everyone.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At 6:55, Mariana found herself wearing a long teal dress and her black robe over it, her small witch hat on her head. Her hair was let down, letting her black curls flow down to stop at her waist. She decided to go with a somewhat natural makeup with a beauty spell her friends at school taught her. Her feet were sporting a set of short black heels.

As she was waiting for the students to arrive, she looked around the Hall. There were long tables set that weren’t there before. Candles floating all around the ceiling, and the school’s and houses’ banners all over the walls.

She was chatting with Professor Sprout, who was sitting to her left; about the different types of magical and medicinal plants from their countries and how to grow them, when the doors to the Great Hall opened and students started pouring in and sitting at their respective tables. At this, Mariana’s smile became a full-grown grin.

A couple of minutes after everyone was sitting at their tables - both students and staff - Minerva entered holding a stool and an old hat and was followed by what Mariana assumed were the first-year students.

“Excuse me, is this seat taken?” 

Mariana turned to her right, where a tall man in a brown suit that had seen better days stood in front of her. He seemed tired, his face had 3 faint scars across it, but there was a small - albeit tired - smile on his face. Green eyes a little bit sore looking and combed light brown hair adorned his face. All in all, he seemed kind and actually quite handsome. 

Mariana smiled politely at the stranger. “Not at all. Please, take it.” She said nodding at the chair next to her.

The man smiled and nodded his thanks, taking a seat next to her. “Thank you. There was an issue during the train ride here, so I had to make a side tour to the Hospital Wing.”

“Oh no,” Mariana frowned. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. A student fainted, but he’s fine now.”

**“GRYFFINDOR!”**

Mariana was startled by the shout. Clearly, she wasn’t expecting the hat to shout. The man next to her chuckled a bit at her reaction.

“From that jump, I can say it’s your first time in Hogwarts.” He smiled.

“Is it that obvious?” She laughed. “Name’s Mariana, by the way.” She introduced herself, sticking her hand out.

He grabbed it and shook it. “Remus Lupin.” He replied.

“Nice to meet you, Remus.”

“The pleasure is mine.” 

They both stared at each other’s eyes with a smile.

_I think I’m going to like it here._ She thought.


	5. September 1st

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter today, I’ve had a very rough couple of weeks recently. You know, migraines at the end of every day from pure stress from work and I’ve just didn’t have time to write. But I really wanted to update today because it’s Hogwarts day!
> 
> The way Mariana talks, hands moving and all, is a very Mexican thing to do, tbh. I know very few people who don’t talk with their hands lol
> 
> And yes. I did write Dumbledore’s speech from the movie word by word lol I had to pause the clip every time to get the words right.

Mariana couldn’t help but smile as every student got sorted into each house, reminding her of her own sorting back home. 

Unlike what they did at Hogwarts, Tlahtiminitepelt’s sorting ceremony was different. The students arrived on horseback, in batches of 8-10 students led by a prefect or a professor, while the first years were escorted by the stone warriors that surrounded and protected the ancient pyramids. The sorting ceremony was held at _La Ciudadela_ , right in the center of all four pyramids, where students played Quidditch and _Tlachtli_ , the Aztec and Mayan ball game.

Students from all years were seated a few feet away from the huge fire that was in the center of _La Ciudadela_ , raging high into the night sky. First year students stood in a line in front of the fire, and were handed a piece of resin from a tree _called copal_ and threw it into the fire. From the smoke, as each student threw in their piece of resin, one of the animals from each house appeared, sorting the student into the house. After the last student was sorted and the fire was put down, the whole school walked to the underground Hall, where dinner was already served and ready to eat.

As the hat had sorted the last student with a shout of “HUFFLEPUFF!”, Professor Flitwick and some older students made their way to the front of the Hall. Some students were carrying big toads with them, and Mariana couldn’t help but look on with a confused look in her eyes.

“Oh they’re still doing that, I see.” Remus mumbled beside her.

Mariana turned towards him, seeing that tired smile still on his face as he looked on as the students started singing beautifully in rhythm with the toads? 

“Oh wow!” Mariana replied, making Remus chuckle at her reaction.

“They’re good!” She said after they were done, applauding along with the rest of the school.

It was that moment that Professor Dumbledore stood up and walked towards the podium in front of the teacher’s table, still applauding as the students who just sang walked towards their own table.

“Welcome!”He started, “Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Now, I’d like to say a few words before we all become too befuddled by our excellent feast. First, I’m pleased to welcome Professor RJ Lupin, who’s kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.” Dumbledore said as he turned and signalled Remus with his arm. “Good luck, Professor.”

With that, Remus stood up and bowed awkwardly, clearly not liking being the center of attention. Mariana found this very endearing, to be fair. He sat back down as Mariana tried hard not to smile more, applauding and noticing the slight blush covering his cheeks and neck.

_Ay Dios, es tan tierno._ (Oh God, He’s so cute), Mariana thought as he turned to look at her with a nervous smile. 

When the applause died down, Dumbledore continued.“The world is becoming more globalized as time goes by. People from all over the world travel, live, and work in other countries. Muggles do it, and wizards are not the exception to this. And so, we have one of the greatest minds in Latin American here with us to teach our third years only about the wonders of her continent. Please welcome Professor Mariana Mondragón.”

Just like with Remus, Professor Dumbledore turned to face her as he and the rest of the school applauded, Mariana stood up and bowed as well, a huge and excited smile plastered on her face as she waved at the students.

She sat back down and turned to her left and right, smiling at Professor Sprout and at Remus as she couldn’t control her excitement.

_De verdad me va a encantar estar aquí._ (I’m really going to love it here), she thought to herself as she took a sip of her water.

“Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher for many years, has decided to retire in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs,” At this, Mariana choked a bit on her drink. She coughed quietly (at least it didn’t bring too much attention towards her), and regained composure as Dumbledore continued on with his speech.

“Are you okay?” Remus asked worriedly.

“Yes,” She said after clearing her throat. “I was just not expecting _that._ I guess our schools are not that different.”

Yet more applause interrupted her as the students applauded and even cheered as Hagrid stood up. Apparently he was well liked among the students. And Mariana couldn’t blame them, if she was being honest. Hagrid was such a gentle giant with a heart of gold.

“Finally, on a more describing note,” Dumbledore said as Hagrid sat down, “at the request of the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts will, until further notice, play host to the Dementors of Azkaban until such time as Sirius Black is captured.”

Murmurs and voices were heard all around the room as students whispered among themselves about the situation at hand. Mariana’s smile transformed into a confused frown, not knowing who Sirius Black was nor what he did to end up in Azkaban. She’d have to ask Minerva when the feast is done about it.

“The Dementors will be stationed at every entrance to the grounds. Now whilst I have been assured that their presence will not disrupt our day-to-day activities, a word of caution.” His voice lowered. “Dementors are vicious creatures, they will not distinguish between the one they hunt and the one who gets in their way. Therefore, I must warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. It is not in the nature of a Dementor to be forgiving.”

The room was extremely quiet, and Mariana felt herself tremble a bit at Dumbledore’s words. The aura in the room changed completely from the happy and relaxed it was mere minutes ago to something somber and dark.

“But you know,” Dumbledore continued, “happiness can be found even in the darkest of times,” He said as he waved his hand over the candles on the podium, the fire dying away. “if one only remembers to turn on the light.” He waved his hand again, the candles coming alight again.”

“But I’ve talked too much, haven’t I? I can hear my stomach grumbling.” He joked, making some students giggle and chuckle. “Let the feast begin!” 

At his words, food magically appeared in the middle of the long tables, in front of every student. At the teachers’ table it was the same. Food from every sort, from roasted chicken to steamed vegetables appeared in front of them. Mariana was happy, however, to see a steaming pile of freshly made tortillas appear in front of her, next to two small saucers of salsa verde and salsa roja. She felt right at home.

She grabbed some chicken and started shredding it and making some chicken tacos with some salsa. Taking a bite, she let out a sigh and relaxed on her chair.

“Oh sweet Jesus I feel at home.” She mumbled.

A chucked from her right brought her back to reality. She whipped her head to look at the man sitting next to her and blushed, forgetting she wasn’t alone.

“Sorry. I love tortillas.” She mumbled with a shy smile, eyes looking down.

“It’s fine,” He said. “So, Professor Mondragón,” Mariana noticed and tried not to beam at just how he pronounced her last name correctly the first time. “Where are you from?”

After cleaning her mouth with the cloth napkin she had on her lap, she replied. “I’m from Mexico City, born and raised.” 

“I never thought about wizards and witches from other continents, to be honest. Don’t get me wrong, I always figured there had to be, but I’ve never met anyone.” Remus said before taking a bite of his toast with vegetables.

“Well, I’m happy to be the first American you meet, Professor.” She said with a wink, making him laugh.

They continued talking and eating through the night. Remus seemed to be getting more tired as the minutes passed, but he was having fun talking with his fellow new professor. She was passionate when she talked, a smile never leaving her face and hands going everywhere. She reminded him of someone he once knew.

“So, Remus,” He liked how she called him by his name and not his last name. It seemed warm, more friendly than he remembered being in Hogwarts was.

“I can guess you were a student here, right?” She asked.

“You would be right.” He replied.

“So, when you were a student here, who was your History of Magic class?”

“Oh Professor Binns was the most boring professor I’ve ever had. My friends and I had a bet going on that he died of boredom and just kept going to class to give students the same fate he had. We never found out.” Remus laughed, holding a hand to his ribs as he did.

“I think I’m good, then.” Mariana said with a sigh. “My mom always said that history has to be taught as gossip. Because history _is_ gossip, if you think about it. That way, people get more invested in it and actually remember it.” She smiled. “I just hope I can do that with them, You know, cultural differences and such.”

After a couple of seconds of thinking, Remys replied. “I think your mother is right. I would have gotten better grades that way, to be honest.” 

Mariana laughed at that and guided her dark eyes straight to his green ones, holding eye contact for a few seconds.

Remus cleared his throat, though, and looked down at his wrist watch. “I think I’ll be taking my leave. I’m a bit tired and still have a class to plan.” 

“You’re right, tomorrow’s a big day, isn’t it?” She said with a smirk.

“Right you are, Ms. Mondragón.” He said, standing up.

“Please, call me Mariana.” She smiled, and he smiled back.

“Have a good night, Mariana.” 

Mariana watched him as he left the room, and turned back to her tacos.


	6. Meeting the Golden Trio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I’m back! And I’m sorry in advance. I do not like this book’s Draco lol He grew on me, but that happened until book 6. So I’m sorry to any Draco fan reading this story. I promise it won’t be too bad.
> 
> Anyone wants to guess what's the equivalent of the Mexican houses to Hogwarts? I'd love to see it!

Thursday wasn’t a very eventful day. Her class with the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs went extremely well. They all listened to her and even seemed interested in what she was saying, even though they were getting tired, what with the class being an hour after lunch and being a double period. She didn’t see Remus that day at breakfast. Maybe he slept in, or maybe he was finishing planning for that day’s class. After all, he had to teach all the students in the school. He wasn’t there during lunch or dinner, either. 

That Friday morning, as she walked down towards the Great Hall for breakfast wearing a turquoise knee length dress with a navy cardigan and her pair black ballerinas. With her classroom being on the third floor, she had to walk a lot to get there, and she was glad there weren't any students in the halls yet.

“Good morning, Mariana.”

She had just entered the Entrance Hall and was about to go down the stairs to the Great Hall when he called her name. Turning around, she saw none other than Professor Remus Lupin making his way from the courtyard towards the Great Hall. Mariana’s face brightened as she set eyes on him.

“Remus! Good morning!” She replied with a wide smile on her face. When he reached her, they both continued walking down the stairs to enter the Great Hall, walking between the tables to reach the Staff Table at the front of the room.

“How was your first day?” He asked when they sat down, pouring himself some pumpkin juice.

“It was good! I was expecting them to go crazy a bit, to be honest. You know, new class, new teacher, and the full moon was Wednesday night, you know?” She replied as she prepared herself a cup of coffee.

Remus choked on his juice after she mentioned the full moon, cleaning his chin with a cloth napkin. “F-full moon?”

Mariana nodded as she put her coffee down and served a spoon full of scrambled eggs on her plate.

“Yeah, the full moon affects people’s behaviour some times. Mainly children and teenagers.” She said while stirring the milk into her coffee. “Or at least that’s what my astronomy teacher used to say back at school.” 

“Do you believe that?” He asked quietly, a worried look on his face.

“Meh, I’m not really sure.” She said, shrugging. “I mean, I totally believe that the moon is a very powerful being, it’s part of my culture, but we’re wizards, right? Anything can happen.”

Remus nodded and cleared his throat.

Mariana felt the air around them change, getting a bit awkward, and she didn’t like that.

“So, “ She started, taking a sip from her coffee. “How was your day? I didn’t see you at any of the meals yesterday.”

“It was good, a bit tiring.” He said before taking a bite of his toast. “I had to stay in my office to plan all the classes I had for the day.”

“Oh, okay then.” She looked at him through the corner of her eye. “I hope you have a good day today, as well.”

Remus didn’t turn to her, his shoulders tense as he nodded and replied with a simple “You too.”

They kept on eating in silence, not looking at the other. The tense air around them still there, weighing deep on Mariana’s shoulders.

“Re-” Mariana started but couldn’t finish as she was interrupted by the bell signaling that breakfast was over and classes were about to start.

“I have to go, I have class with the fifth years in half an hour and I still have to get some things ready.” He said, standing up and pushing his chair in.

“Have a good day!” She replied with a smile.

Remus turned a bit and sent her a small, nervous smile. “You too”.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Mariana left her office to enter her classroom at 5 minutes to 10, she wasn’t expecting to see 6 students arguing outside her classroom. Three Gryffindors and three Slytherins. She knew about the rivalry between those two houses specifically (Pomona had filled her in about that issue), but arguing so loudly? She wasn’t expecting that.

“Alright everyone, let’s break it up and come inside, please.” She said. Two of the Gryffindors, a girl with bushy hair and a redhead, turned to look at her and then pulled on their friend’s - a boy with black hair and glasses - hand, who was still glaring at the blond Slytherin.

They all walked inside and each house took a side of the classroom. Mariana noticed that, as they walked in, they all looked around the room in awe. She was proud of herself, she got them interested.

“Well, good morning everyone. My name is Professor Mariana Mondragón, and welcome to your new class!” She said as she stood close to the map of the American continent. “Latin America: A history of culture and magic. This year we’ll focus on Mexico, and we’ll see a new country every year that passes.”

With a wave of her light colored wand, sparks came out of the tip and formed the silhouette of Mexico right in the middle of the room. She walked towards it and waved her wand again, this time the sparks formed the silhouette of England right next to Mexico.

“As you can see,” she started, guiding England to be in the center of Mexico, “Mexico is a very big country. It can fit around…” She waved her wand again, and England multiplied by 6. “England 6 times inside it.”

She turned to see the students - mainly the Gryffindors - hooked on what she was saying. Some Slytherins were, too, but most of them had a bored look on their faces.

“Now,” she walked through the sparks, making them disappear. “There are a lot of cultures and… tribes, if you may, in Mexico, each with their own history and traditions. But they all have one thing in common. What would you think that is?”

The same bushy haired brunette that was arguing that morning with the Slytherins raised her hand, arm straight above her.

“Yes!” Mariana pointed at her. “What’s your name, sweetie?”

Some students giggled at the pet name, but neither the girl nor Mariana cared.

“Hermione, professor.” The girl smiled.

“Very well, Hermione. Do you know what all these cultures have in common?”

“Well, they were all conquered by the Conquistadors from Spain in the 16th century.” Mariana smiled at the girl’s eagerness to answer.

“You read the book, didn’t you?” 

Hermione blushed, but nodded with a gleam in her eyes.

“Well, yes, that’s right, but it wasn’t the answer I was looking for. But thank you for participating, Hermione.” 

Mariana walked around the desks and around the students, everyone’s eyes on her. “You see, all these tribes had magic in common. Even though they spoke different languages and each had their culture, they all had the same bases in magic.”

“Mexican magic, differently to European magic, is more… naturalistic. It’s more grey. Yes, there is dark and white magic, but Mexican magic is grey. Old Mexican magic involved a lot of sacrifices, but it was an honor to be sacrificed to the gods and well, magic is all about intent. They didn’t commit these actions with the intent of hurting someone else, but to help the tribe.”

“And yes, going back to what Hermione said, Mexico was indeed conquered by Spain for over 500 years, so The Conquistadors brought their own magic with them to our country. And, contrary to what happened in the US, the Spanish did not commit genocide. Well, they did kill a lot of indigenous people, but not in the amounts that the British did when they created the Thirteen Colonies. That is the reason magic in the US is more European like. And magic is Mexico was created by a blend of the old magic from the tribes and the new one from the foreigners who arrived in our country.”

“Professor,” an Indian girl with long black hair raised her hand. Mariana had to make a double take, didn’t she have her in her class with the Ravenclaws on Thursday?

“Yes? You’re Padma’s sister?”

“Yes, my name’s Parvati, professor.” She smiled.

“What is it, Parvati?”

“Can you tell us about your school?”

“Oh yes!” A boy with a heavy Irish accent added. “What’s it like?”

“Please tell us more about yourself, professor!” Hermione said.

Mariana smiled and looked down shaking her head.

“Yeah, maybe that’ll explain why Dumbledore decided to make this stupid class.” Someone whispered a bit too loud, as if they wanted everyone to hear.

The room went quiet except for the snickers of two boys. Clearly his friends.

Mariana looked up at the blond Slytherin who was arguing with Hermione and her friends outside her classroom, and she bit the inside of her cheek to control herself. 

_Ah, nunca falta uno de esos…_ (Oh, there’s always one of those…)

“Shut up, Malfoy.” The boy with glasses said.

“Of course Potter would jump at the chance to defend someone, he can’t help it. He needs to remind everyone of how great he is!” The blond boy - Malfoy, apparently - replied.

“You’d think you’d like this class, seeing as you’re so into dark magic.” The redheaded boy snarked back.

“Woah woah woah, okay everyone stop.” Mariana said, raising her hands and walking towards their desks. “What’s your name?” She asked Malfoy.

“Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.” He answered with a smirk.

Mariana smiled a sweet but threatening smile. “Well, Draco, I’ll tell you what. Every day, the world is getting more globalized and you need a broader look of the world. Not only of your little bubble of knowledge. Knowledge is power, you see. And the more knowledge you obtain, the more powerful you’d be. So,” She leaned down to his level. “I hope you enjoy this ‘stupid class’, as you so call it, because, you see, you’re going to need it.”

Draco glared at her as she straightened her back and, with a smile his way, walked back to the front of the class.

“What would you like to know?”

“Tell us about yourself, professor!” The Gryffindors, clearly enjoying her reaction to Malfoy, shouted at her, making her laugh.

“Okay okay! Um, my name is Mariana, I was born in Mexico City. My dad is a wizard and my mom is a _naualiui_. I -”

“A _what_?” a Slytherin girl with a very hard-looking face with short black said.

“A _naualiui_.” 

“What in Merlin’s beard is that?”

“A person without magic.” Mariana replied, a confused look on her face.

“You mean to say that Dumdledore hired a _half-blood_ to teach us?” The same girl replied.

“It’s better than a mudblood.” Draco smirked, looking over at Hermione, who was glaring at him.

Everyone around them gasped, and Mariana didn’t understand why, but understood enough to know that was a very bad word to say to someone.

“Mr. Malfoy, I’d like to ask you to not use that word again in my class. And yes, I’m a half-blood. My mother is a _naualiui_ and my father is a wizard. I graduated top of my class in _Tlahtiminitepelt_ , the wizarding school in Mexico, and I started working as a magical anthropologist apprentice that same summer. Not to brag, but I was the best in my area,” She smirked. “That’s the reason _Professor_ Dumbledore hired me.”

“Were there houses in your school, professor?” The boy with glasses asked as he leaned over his desk.

“Yes, there are. What’s your name?” 

“Harry Potter, professor.”

“There are 4 houses, each with their own mascot, all important animals to the country. _Ocelotl_ , the jaguar”, as she was explaining, the same sparks from her wand were forming the silhouettes of the animals. “ _Quetzalli_ , the quetzal. A very beautiful, green bird with the most beautiful and longest tail I’ve ever seen. _Atlxolotl_ , the axolotl. And _Mázatl _, the deer. Each house has their characteristics, of course.”__

__She explained how the sorting ceremony to them, watching how their faces turned into ones of awe as she talked._ _

__“What house were you in? I bet you were in the jaguar one. Like Gryffindor.” The redheaded one, Ron Weasley, said, making Mariana giggled._ _

__“I was in Quetzalli, actually. We are known for being brave yet elegant, and adventurous.”_ _

__“You’re a Gryffindor! I knew there was a reason I liked you!” Ron exclaimed._ _

__“Okay, class is over. Please read chapters 1 and 2 for Monday! Have a great weekend, guys!” Mariana said, and everyone started to pack their belongings._ _

_“Draco and Hermione, could you please stay for a bit? I’d like to talk to you.”_

_Both teenagers stayed behind as everyone left. Hermione with a worried look on her face and Draco with a scowl on his and his arms crossed._

__“Wait over at that desk, Draco. Hermione, come with me.” Mariana said with a neutral face._ _

__Both teens followed her instructions - obviously Draco scuffing as he did - and Mariana had Hermione go to a corner of the room with her. Hermione’s back to Draco, Mariana’s eyes on him._ _

__“I noticed you didn’t like the word he used when he looked at you. Sadly, I don’t know what it means. Can you please tell me what it is, so I can take the correct measures about it?” The professor whispered to the student._ _

__“It’s a word pure-bloods use to refer to muggleborns, people like me. It’s a very ugly word, it’s insulting.”_ _

__  
_“Muggleborns?_ ” Mariana whispered back.  


__“People with parents who don’t have magic. _Naualiuis _, you called them?”___ _ __“Oh, so you call people without magic muggles. Got it.” She turned to look the younger girl in the eye. “So he called you a slur?” Hermione nodded._ _

____“Don’t let it get to you, honey. You’re too bright for that. Prove them wrong. You’re better than them.” She smiled a kind smile at her and Hermione smiled back._ _ _ _

____“Thank you, professor.”_ _ _ _

____“You’re welcome, darling. Now go. I’ll see you next week.”_ _ _ _

____With that, Hermione left._ _ _ _

____“Draco, please come here.”_ _The blond boy walked towards Mariana, glaring at her._ _ _ _

____“Okay, listen.” She said with a stern face and tone of voice, “I can see you don’t want to take this class. I do not care about the reason, but you’ve made it pretty obvious. You can hate my class all you want, but I won’t accept any disrespect to either me or your classmates. Not in my class. You hear me?”_ _ _ _

____Draco looked down and stayed quiet._ _ _ _

____“I said. Do you hear me?” She repeated, more sternly._ _ _ _

____“Yes.” He said through his teeth._ _ _ _

____“Yes, what?”_ _ _ _

____“Yes, professor.”_ _ _ _

____“Good. You can go.”_ _ _ _

____Draco walked to the door, and when he was about to open it, Mariana called him._ _ _ _

____“Oh, Mr. Malfoy?”_ _ _ _

____He turned to look at her with an exasperated look on his face._ _ _ _

____“If I ever hear you calling anyone “muddblood” again, in or outside my class, I’ll give you detention. Am I clear?”_ _ _ _

____Draco’s hand clenched around the doorknob as he glared at Mariana. “Yes, professor.”_ _ _ _

____“Good. Have a nice day.” She said with a forced smile._ _ _ _

____As Draco opened the door. Draco mumbled a “my father will hear about this” as he left, and Mariana just rolled her eyes and closed the door with a wave of her wand._ _ _ _

____Well, her Friday was definitely more eventful that Thursday, and it wasn’t even 11 am._ _ _ _


	7. Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A kinda slow (and very much filler) chapter this week, I'm sorry. I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't that much of a fan of this chapter, but we're gonna get to the canon parts in future chapters.
> 
> I find it ironic and kinda funny that I’m updating today because today (September 15th) is Mexico’s Independence Day. So, VIVA MÉXICO! I don’t know if I should write a chapter about it/ talking about Mariana’s first Independence Day not in Mexico, what do you guys think?
> 
> Beware. Mariana, as any Mexican person I know (myself included) curses A LOT when she's angry. And cursing in Spanish feels more fulfilling than in English. We have more words.
> 
> Mixcoatl is the god of the sky, hunting, and storm. He was the patron of warriors. Tlaloc is the god of rain and water, so they kinda go hand in hand.
> 
> I know there wasn't much Remus, but I promise he'll make an appearance next week!

At Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, there was a peculiar moment in which a corridor that usually had quite the number of students going from one class to another gossiping about tests, homework, and practices, out of the blue became one of the most deserted in the entirety of the school. One could assume and quite certainly, that something extraordinary had happened. Like the time where there had been a troll in the dungeons, or when the heir of Slytherin made quite the negative impression of being in the veins of Hogwarts alone. But no, in this case, the cause of such a corridor being uninhabited, especially at this time of the day, was none other than a click-clack of ballerina slippers and the murmuring of one particular professor. Perhaps if the students knew what such a professor was muttering and the meaning behind such words, they wouldn’t be so scared to cross paths with her. But it so happened that Spanish wasn’t a very common language in such parts of Britain, and Latinas even less so. The children and teens, upon encountering such a fearsome creature murmuring in rage and the sounds of angry heels clicking against the stoned floors, thought it better to stay away from her path. Two ginger headed boys, in particular, had it so ingrained in their bodies how to react to the feral aura of the fearsome creature making her way that decided to leave their carefully thought out prank for another day, their instinct even screaming at them to hide and hide fast. They put everything away and slithered behind a statue. Waiting like prey for the lion to pass by. The clicking grew loud of a second but as fast as it came as fast as it disappeared. 

“Let’s leave this for another time, don’t you think George?” One of them said with relief.

“Blimey Fred. I thought that was mum for a second.” 

“Had it been mum George, we wouldn’t live to tell the tale mate.” He tipped twice against the wall with his wand. “After you.”

“Why thank you.” George entered the hidden corridor. “Got to say it though. Had it been mum, I would definitely be barfing for thinking the way I did when she passed by.”

“Merlin’s beard George. Don’t put that thought in my head mate...Fucking dammit”

“That’s what I am here for.” George’s laughter echoed for a bit before the wall closed leaving none the wiser about the existence of the secret way the ginger heads took.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 _“Chamaco del demonio, ¿Cómo se atreve a hablarme así? Y yo que todavía me rebajo a su nivel. Escuincle baboso...hijo de la…”_ (Freaking kid, how does he dare speak to me like that? And I even got to his level. Spoilt brat… Son of a....) 

“Miss Mondragón.” the centenarian voice of a certain headmaster completely shut her ramble.

“H-H-Headmaster!” Mariana stuttered, a bit ashamed to have been caught in the act of cursing the Malfoy brat and his entire family. She had even, for one second, thought of asking _Mixcoatl_ to aid in her vengeance. But just for a second...a minute...possibly more. Shit. She hoped Dumbledore, in all his wise and knowledgeable mind, didn’t know Spanish, nor Nahuatl. Knowing the man he probably did… _chingada madre…_ (for fuck's sake…)

“How was your first week as a teacher?” The old wizard asked with his particular smile. “Must have been thrilling and a bit terrifying.”

 _You have no idea._ She thought.

“It was alright, professor. It was better than I thought, actually.” She replied. “The students were very interested in the class, actually. I was very surprised.” She said with a laugh, one that Dumbledore reciprocated.

“I’m happy to hear that, Mariana.” His eyes disappeared as he smiled.

“Thank you, professor. I, um... There was a situation with a boy in my class today. Several kids, actually. Nothing I couldn’t handle, but I just wanted to let you know. They called another student… _mudblood_.” She lowered her voice when she said the last word, not wanting anyone to hear her saying such a word.

“Ah, I see you’ve met the Slytherins. Were these students by any chance, Mr. Malfoy and his friends?”

“Yes, sir. I had a talk with Draco, but I have a feeling that this won’t be the last of it and maybe you’ll get an owl tomorrow.”

“Don’t fret, Mariana, Mr. Malfoy owls and visits regularly for any excuse he can find. If it isn’t about you, it will be about something else.” He winked at her. “Don’t worry about it.”

Mariana felt herself relax a bit by his words, but her shoulders were still tensed up and she really wanted to go to the kitchens.

“Thank you, professor. Would that be all?”

“I was going to send an owl to all faculty to let them know, but now that you’re here I’ll just tell you. We are having a quick meeting at 4:30 in my office, not more than 30 minutes. Just some last-minute details.”

“Sure thing, professor. I’ll see you there.” She smiled and nodded. With that, Dumbledore turned and walked away.

With this, Mariana turned as well and made her way towards the kitchens, in desperate need of something sweet - or maybe spicy, if she could get some chips and salsa - but she could totally go for a chocolate croissant. That Malfoy kid had really stressed her out. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Good day, everyone. And thank you for coming.” Dumbledore said as all the teachers stood around him. “Now that all staff members are here, we can assign the Night Patrols and Hogsmeade weekends chaperones. As you know, curfew starts at 9 pm, and students are not allowed to be out of their common rooms during that time, and Hogsmeade trips happen one Saturday every month.”

As Dumbledore spoke, Minerva handed each teacher a piece of parchment with the schedule to their duties and who their partner would be.

_Night Patrol:_  
_**MONDAY** \- Snape_  
_**TUESDAY** \- Flitwick_  
_**WEDNESDAY** \- McGonagall_  
_**THURSDAY** \- Lupin/Mondragón_  
_**FRIDAY** \- Burbage/Vector_  
_**SATURDAY** -Babbling/Sprout_  
_**SUNDAY** \- Sinistra/Flitwick_

_Hogsmeade_  
_**OCTOBER** \- Sinistra_  
_**NOVEMBER** \- Flitwick_  
_**DECEMBER** \- McGonagall_  
_**JANUARY** \- Mondragón_  
_**FEBRUARY** \- Lupin_  
_**MARCH** \- Sprout_  
_**APRIL** \- Snape_  
_**MAY** \- Burbage_  
_**JUNE** \- Vector_

“The first trip to Hogsmeade will be on the first Saturday of October, which is the 2nd of October. Professor Sinistra, you’ll be the first to chaperone. That would be all everyone, please enjoy your weekend, and I’ll see you all at dinner.” Everyone nodded and said their goodbyes as they were dismissed.

Mariana turned around to look for Remus, but he wasn’t there anymore. She sighed and left Dumbledore’s office to make her way to hers.

_I’ll see him at dinner time, I guess._ She thought.

When she entered her office, she could hear crying from the closed door of her bedroom. _Ugh, ya empezó otra vez._ (Ugh, here we go again.) She still wasn’t used to the ghost’s constant crying and lamenting, but it was getting a bit tedious, if she was being honest with herself.

 _“Cihua, corazón. ¿Estás bien?”_ (Cihua, honey. Are you okay?) She asked the lady ghost as she entered her room, finding her curled up in the corner of her ceiling.

 _“¡Mis hijos!”_ (My children!) The ghost lamented.

 _“Cihua, no crees que sería mejor si, no sé, ¿sales a conocer a otros fantasmas? ¡O a lo mejor ver a los niños del colegio puede ayudarte, puede que sea terapeútico!”_ (Cihua, don’t you think it’d be better if, I don’t know, you go meet the other ghosts? Or maybe seeing the children around the school helps you, it could be therapeutic!)

 _“¡Me da pena salir de aquí! ¡No puedo hablar con nadie, no los entiendo!”_ (I’m too embarrassed to leave the room! I can’t talk to anyone, I don’t understand them!) She lowered herself, now at Mariana’s height.

 _“¡Nunca vas a aprender el idioma si no sales, corazón! Pero necesitas salir a otras partes del castillo. ¿Lo has visto? ¿Has visto lo hermoso que está? Podrías salir a dar la vuelta nada más.”_ (You’ll never learn the language if you don’t go out, honey! But you need to see other parts of the castle. Have you seen it? Have you seen how beautiful it is? You could just go out for a stroll.) The living woman tried to comfort Cihuacoatl, but it was a little difficult to pat the woman’s back when her hand went right through it.

 _“¿Quieres que vaya contigo?”_ (Want me to go with you?) She asked and, after a few seconds of hesitation, Cihuacoatl nodded.

 _“Perfecto.”_ (Perfect.) Mariana smiled. _“Ahora límpiate esas lágrimas, y vámonos. Te voy a enseñar el castillo.”_ (Now wipe those tears and let’s go. I’m going to show you the castle.)


	8. Red Menaces and Chocolate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry I didn’t post in 2 weeks. I’ve had 2 very busy, very crazy weeks. My cousin moved her wedding forward by 5 weeks and she told us 3 weeks before the actual date, so I was going crazy looking for a dress and stuff for my cosplays. And last week, my grandma had a mini stroke and fell going up the stairs, so she needed stitches and she’s still staying at the hospital, we don’t know when she’s leaving so we’ve all been taking turns to spend the night with her. And to be honest, I’ve been struggling with this story a bit. But I’m doing my best to be back because I really love you all and I’m very grateful for all your support. I hope I can get back on schedule later on, when everything goes back to normal.
> 
> If you want to see what Mariana’s outfit looks like, google “China Poblana”. What Mariana shouts during class is known as “Grito de Dolores”. It’s what Miguel Hidalgo, the man who started the independence movement, shouted before starting it. The president shouts it from the Palacio de Gobierno every September 15th. I did a very short version of it, but those three names are the most important ones from the people who fought for our freedom. 
> 
> There’s no actual translation for “MARÍA PURÍSIMA”, it literally means “PURE MARY” but it doesn’t make sense lol 
> 
> Carlos V is my favorite chocolate and it’s 100% Mexican. It is now owned and produced by Nestlé, but it used to be produced by a Mexican company, but it got bought by Nestlé in 1995. So, technically speaking, it’s still Mexican in this story’s setting lol.

Walking around the castle with Cihuacoatl was really helpful for the ghost. She was nervous to be outside Mariana’s room, but she struck a friendship with Helena Ravenclaw and, weirdly enough, Moaning Myrtle. How did Cihuacoatl could stand the annoying teenaged ghost, Mariana would never know. Nor ask. Maybe they bonded over moaning and lamenting. This made Cihuacoatl slowly start learning the language - because she now had friends to talk to besides Mariana.

This, therefore, gave Mariana more time to herself in her own room. Cihuacoatl still spent time with Mariana, but it was a bit less now. And, if Mariana was honest, she actually missed the crying lady.

September came and went, and before they all could notice it, it was the middle of October. On the 15th of September, Mariana wore her best Mexican typical dress. It consisted of a white top with a squared neckline and puffed short sleeves and colorful embroidered flowers just below the neckline. This was combined with a green skirt that reached just above her knees, and it was accompanied by a red shawl around her shoulders (She said she wore it because it went with the outfit, but it really was because it was starting to get colder). She greeted her students that day by popping sombreros on their heads as they walked inside, making the Gryffindors smile and laugh, while the Slytherins grunted and took them off.

She told them the history of Mexico’s independence day, about how and why it started and how it ended. She even showed them her favorite part of the celebration.

“Okay, everyone ready?” She smiled as she held onto the bell she had just transfigured. The Gryffindors and some Slytherins were standing at their desks, smiles and giggles all around. With a wave of her wand, she set a silencing charm around the classroom just in case. She didn’t want to disrupt the other classes that were in the rooms next to hers.

“Viva Hidalgo!” She said, ringing the bell.

“Viva!” The students shouted, laughing.

“Viva Morelos!”

“Viva!”

“Viva Josefa Ortíz de Domínguez!”

“Viva!”

“Viva México!”

“Viva México!” They all said with a very heavy accent and smiled and applauded, some of them throwing their sombreros to the air. Laughter could be heard all around the room from the Gryffindors, while the Slytherins were groaning and muttering to themselves.

Overall, she was liking her first month as a teacher. The ghosts seemed to have accepted the pair of Mexican women, the staff members received Mariana with open arms and helped her whenever she needed help or they just sat down to chat over a cup of tea. And the students loved her class. Mariana was the happiest she’s been in a very long time. She loved her other job, it was her passion, but she never thought that she would love teaching as much as she did.

While she had an amicable relationship with her fellow teachers, there were two that didn’t talk to her. She wasn’t worried about Severus, if she had to be honest. He seemed to be closed off and not the talking type. He wasn’t impolite, though. He just didn’t talk to her, and that was fine. 

But what bothered her the most was that Remus wasn’t talking to her, not since the second day of class. He didn’t sit with her during meals anymore, and when they went on patrol together, he didn’t talk, and the air seemed awkward and tense. She tried to diffuse the tension, but he only replied with small smiles and short answers. She didn’t know what she did to make him angry at her, but she just couldn’t think of anything. So she let him be. 

And just like that, it was October. The weather got more chilly as the days went by, making Mariana beg her mom to owl her some of her warmer tights, jumpers, and jacket. She also asked Dumbledore for permission to apparate in muggle London to buy a scarf, gloves, and hats. It hadn’t started snowing yet, but she knew it wouldn’t be long.

On the morning of the first of October, as she sat down at the Great Hall drinking her coffee, she noticed Remus hadn’t come down for breakfast. It wasn’t the first time the man skipped a meal, but he hadn’t had dinner the night before either, and he didn’t patrol with her either. 

“Good morning, Mariana.” 

Mariana startled, her coffee spilling a bit on the table, she turned to see Minerva standing next to her.

“Minerva, hi.” She breathed out.

“Would you be able to cover for professor Lupin today? He’s not feeling too well and won’t make it to class today. Would you mind?”

“Oh, not at all! I’d love to help. I just need the material and I’ll be set.” She smiled as she cleaned the table. “I have class at 10 am, though. I won’t be able to cover that one.”

“Don’t worry about that period, someone else will cover it.” Minerva smiled. “Do you know where the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom is?” Mariana nodded. “Professor Lupin left notes on every class he has today on his desk, so you won’t have any trouble. Thank you, Mariana.” 

So, breakfast passed quietly and at 9:00 Mariana could be found at Remus’s desk, reading with a quite a dumbfounded look on her face. _¿Qué chingados?..._ (What the fuck?…)

_To Ms. Mondragon,_

_Thanks for covering my class. I am feeling quite indisposed today and your help is greatly appreciated. These are my notes for class. Hope you enjoy teaching the Fifth years._

_Notes for Mr. Remus’s class._

_Be careful with the red-headed twins and enjoy the class._

_Sincerely,_  
_Remus Lupin_

 _“Que chingados...”_ (What the fuck…) She mumbled. What kind of notes were this? Surely Remus was jesting. But, that was the only piece of paper she could find. She looked through drawers, shelves, below the chair, but nothing. _“Que chistoso Remus.”_ (Very funny, Remus.)

“Hello there Professor!”

 _“MARÍA PURÍSIMA!”_ (SWEET MOTHER OF GOD) Mariana turned around with a jump. Her eyes landed on a pair of redheaded boys with smirks on their lips and eyes that twinkled with mischief.

Be careful with the red-headed twins. _Así que estos dos son los cabronazos de los que me tengo que cuidar._ (So these are the two I have to be careful with.)

“Geez, professor!” One said with a light chuckle.

“You almost flew!” The other continued with a loud booming laugh.

“Shh! Quiet you two! Professor Lupin is resting and wouldn’t appreciate being woken up.” Mariana chastised the laughing duo.

“So terribly sorry, Professor.”

“We regret it deeply.” They both bowed but she somehow knew they were acting it up. She decided to play along. Better to act nonchalant than make a scene. She had lowered herself enough with the pinche Malfoy.

“Good then. Go sit down, class will start in a few minutes.” Saying so she turned back to the desk and pretended to take some notes. Both boys turned to sit down until she spoke up. “Ten points if you can answer this question. What topic are you covering?”

One of the redheaded smiled mischievously “Why professor? Aren’t you supposed to be teaching it?”

“Minus ten points. You, the other one, answer it if you don’t wish to be losing points.”

“Feisty, Freddy likey.”

“What was that?”

“We are studying about proper ways to defend yourself from banshees, professor”

“Good, go back to your seats.”

“The points, professor?”

“Thank your brother for that. Negative and positive cancel out, don’t they?” Mariana said, smirking.

“Why Fred, I think a challenger approaches.”

“Sit down before I deduct more for your impertinence.”

The twins looked at her with identical smirks on their faces as she smirked back at them, when they sat down on their table and the room filled with other students.

Mariana received the rest of the Fifth years and confirmed that they indeed were learning about banshees. Without actual notes or a lot of prior knowledge about the subject; because banshees are mainly in Europe and she never learned about them at school; she did the best she could when she finally found Remus’ copy of the book. 

After her own class - which was a couple of rooms away - and some of Remus’ classes, Mariana was exhausted. She spent all day in Remus’ classroom, just leaving for lunch and dinner, then going back to her own office. She was very tempted to check on him or prepare some tea for him, but she didn’t think she should. Not when he wasn’t talking to her.

Before going to bed, Mariana sat on her bed brushing her hair after a shower, looking up at the moon. She has always been fascinated by the moon growing up, especially the legends about it. Like, how a rabbit fell in love with it and, in his need to be with her, jumped off a cliff and got to her. To this day, you can see his silhouette in it. That myth always made her smile, especially on nights like this when the moon was full and you could see the little loving rabbit.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That next morning Mariana slept in a bit longer. She was so happy that the elves served breakfast for a couple more hours on Saturdays, so she didn’t have to wake up before 9 am. As she went down the hall on her way to the Great Hall, she passed Remus’ closed door. She stood in front of it for a couple of minutes, debating herself if she should check on him or not, but decided against it.

Not a lot of people were in the Great Hall, just a couple of teachers and some students. And no Remus. She walked towards the staff table at the front of the room and was about to sit on her regular seat when she noticed Minerva was there as well.

“Good morning, Minerva.”

The older woman turned away from her tea and smiled at the younger one. “Good morning, Mariana. How is morning going?”

“It’s been good, thank you.” Mariana smiled.

“Um, do you happen to know how Remus is feeling today? I didn’t get a chance to see him yesterday.” Mariana asked.

Minerva’s normally serious face glowed up for a second, a smile and a mischievous gleam appearing in her eyes.

“Professor Lupin is still under the weather, sadly. He will take the weekend to rest and get better.”

Mariana’s face fell at that. “Oh. I hope he feels better, then. Thank you, Minerva.” She smiled a small, sad smile, and went back to her seat.

“He loves chocolate,” Minerva mentioned. “He always carries some with him in case he or someone else is not feeling so good.” She said with a smirk.

“Oh, he does? Good to know.” Mariana smiled and turned to her plate.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remus’s eyes opened and he groaned as he sat up on his bed. He turned to the clock on the wall in front of his bed, groaning again the moment he noticed the time. 5:45 pm. He slept through the day. Even with the wolfbane, his transformation still was painful. Not as much as it was before, but his body still had to get used to the effects of the potion. He groaned once more when he remembered he had so many papers to grade. And a witch to thank for covering for him, even if he didn’t want to see her. He knew she didn’t know about his lycanthropy, but that comment she made at the beginning of the school year really bothered him. He really liked the petite Mexican woman, but he was afraid of what her reaction would be if she found out. So he would rather not befriend her only to then lose her friendship.

He stood up and stretched his arms, walking towards the door of his room to go to his office. As he entered it and walked to his desk, he noticed a Honeydukes bag on top of all the papers on his desk.

Grabbing the bag, he took the piece of parchment out of it, and there, written in beautiful cursive, was a note that made him smile.

_Remus,_

_Heard you like chocolate, so I hope this helps. Feel better._

_\- Mariana._

Remus’ smile became wider as he took out the contents of the bag. 5 chocolate frogs. He chuckled as he took the last product out of it.

“What is this?” He said as he turned the chocolate bar around in his hand.

On the back of it, was taped another piece of parchment.

_This is my favorite chocolate from back home. Feel special, I never share this with anyone._

That touched his heart. He’d have to try this Carlos V chocolate first then, if it was from her own special stash.

“I think I have a witch to see tomorrow, then.” He said to himself as he opened the wrapper and took a bite. “Oh, this is good!”


	9. Sweet Things and Bonding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter today, I'm sorry. But it's a sweet one :)
> 
> And we got a picture, so yay!
> 
> Also, I didn't know how to describe that sound Mariana made, BUT IT'S A VERY MEXICAN THING, OKAY? We do that.

Sunday went by swiftly. Mariana spent her morning checking some essays after breakfast, a cup of coffee next to her on the desk. Sighing, she stretched her back a bit and looked outside, the leaves in the trees turning orange and brown, making her smile. Taking a deep breath, Mariana stood up and, grabbing her long black coat over her white striped dress, and a knitted scarf her mother had made, she made her way out of her office. 

She walked through the halls, still mesmerized by its beauty. The castle was gorgeous, the grounds were breathtaking, but what she loved the most about the castle were, by far, the students. She wouldn’t have thought she’d ever be teaching teenagers across the world about her country, but here she is, and she was loving it.

Some of her students greeted her or waved at her as she walked through the courtyard, as she made her way down the hill towards the lake. This was her favorite spot at the whole school, if she had to be honest. Sitting down right under a tree, she leaned her head back to rest against it, feeling the breeze on her face. She could feel the weather getting colder as the days went by, but she liked it. 

“Care if I join you?” 

Mariana opened her eyes and turned and was surprised to see Remus standing over her, a gentle smile on his face as he looked down at her.

With a small smile, she nodded. “Not at all.”

Both of them sat down in silence, eyes set on the lake before them. The silence was awkward, both of them not knowing what to say. The tense mood was broken when Remus cleared his throat.

“I haven’t thanked you for covering for me on Friday.”

“You don’t have to thank me, I didn’t mind.” She smiled and turned to see him looking at her. “I had fun, actually.” She said with a small chuckle.

“The twins kept you on your toes, didn’t they?” Remus smiled back at her.

“Oh God those two!” Mariana laughed. “They were so witty and so funny! Don’t tell them I say that, though.” 

“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.” 

They looked at each other with smiles on their faces, the awkwardness surrounding them gently lifting and leaving.

“How are you feeling?” Mariana asked softly.  
“Oh,” Remus cleared his throat. “I’m feeling better, thanks for asking. And for the chocolate, you shouldn’t have, really.” 

“I thought that could be a peace offering, you know,” Mariana said, averting her gaze, looking at the piece of grass she was twisting around her finger. “I… I don’t really know what I did or said last month that made you stop talking to me, but I’d like to apologize. I didn’t mean to offend you, honestly.”

Mariana lifted her gaze up at him, looking him deep in his green eyes. Remus stared back, and it felt as if the world around them vanished, just for a moment. Remus smiled then, sat up straight.

“I think maybe,” Remus began, “We could try this again.” He scooted closer to her, sticking his hand out. “Remus Lupin.”

Mariana grinned at the older man, taking his hand in hers. “Mariana Mondragón.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Mondragón.” He smiled as he squeezed her hand in a firm handshake.

“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Lupin. But please, call me Mariana. I feel like I’m back at school whenever I get called by my last name.” 

Remus chuckled as he took his hand away. “Then please, call me Remus.” He moved back to his previous spot, chuckling, but not too far away. “And you’re technically in school, if you think of it.” 

“I mean, if you think of it that way.” Mariana laughed loudly, making Remus’s smile grow.

They sat in silence again, but this time it was a welcomed one, as they smiled and looked at each other. Remus, with a breath, got something out of his pocket.

“Do you want some?” He asked as he offered her a piece from a chocolate bar.

“Do you just carry chocolate around with you?” Mariana said as she took the chocolate from him, taking a bite from the square.

“I like chocolate, is that so bad?” 

“I don’t know, Mr. Lupin, you didn’t give me the impression that you’ve got a sweet tooth.” Mariana smirked at him.

Remus gave her a tiny smirk of his own as she finished the piece of chocolate. “What about you, Ms. Mondragón? I wouldn’t picture you as someone who’s into sweets.”  
Mariana’s smile fell.“So you’re saying because I’m Mexican, I should be into spicy food? That’s a bit racist from you.” 

Remus stopped smiling and his mouth opened and closed as he tried and failed to defend himself. 

Mariana’s neutral face broke down into hysterical laughter. “I’m kidding! Nezahualpilli, you should have seen your face.” She said as she bumped her shoulder with his.

Remus let out a breath in relief. “It wasn’t that funny.”

“Oh, it was!” Mariana took a breath. “But to answer your question, I’m into spicy things, ironically. Chips- I mean, crisps? Is that what you call them?” Remus nodded, trying to hold in a laugh. “Anyway, crisps with salsa Valentina and lime?” Mariana made a slurping sound at the thought. “Man I gotta ask my mom to send me more of those, my stash is almost over.”

“By the way, thank you for the chocolate from your own private collection. It was really good.”

“Feel extremely special, Remus. I don’t even share that chocolate with my mom.” She winked.

“Consider me feeling special.” 

“If you like chocolate, maybe you’d like some hot chocolate? I brought some and the weather is getting colder, so it’ll be a nice time for a cup.”

“That would be nice, thank you.”

The pair continued talking about anything and everything while they spent their time by the lake, not noticing how the day passed and when they least expected it, it was past dinner and students were about to go to bed.

“Oh no, we missed dinner.” 

“We can go to the kitchens if you want, and ask the elves for something.” Remus said standing up, offering his hand to Mariana to help her up.

Nodding, Mariana took his hand and he pulled her up, only letting go of her the moment they reached the castle. He let go so suddenly, as if remembering he was holding it.

They had dinner at the kitchens - a shepherd’s pie for him, and some tacos for her - and left when they finished. Remus, ever the gentleman, walked Mariana to her classroom, passing his on the way.

“Thank you, kind sir.” Mariana said with an atrocious British accent, making Remus laugh.

“Okay I know it’s horrible, no need to laugh.” Mariana said, laughing as well.

“It’s not so bad.” 

“Don’t lie to make me feel better.” 

“I’m not. You’re getting there.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast, then?” Mariana asked.

Remus nodded. “Yes, I’m feeling better now. I’ll be okay by tomorrow.”

“Good night, Remus.”

“Good night, Mariana.”


	10. Suspicion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy late Halloween and Happy Día de Muertos! I hope you had a safe Halloween and have a safe Día de Muertos!

Mariana made her way down the hallway on the third floor, walking as fast as her boot-covered feet let her and stopped in front of Remus’ closed classroom door. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on it, but didn’t hear anything from the other side. After knocking a couple of more times, she sighed and gave up. Turning around, she walked away, going down the stairs and walked towards the entrance hall wearing a coat and a hat, the weather getting colder with each passing day.

She wanted to ask him if he’d like to go with her to Hogsmeade, maybe have a butterbeer with her as she had heard from other teachers they’re good and she’d never really tried one. She also wanted to go to Honeydukes because last time she went she saw they sold sugar skulls all year round, and her little Mexican heart sang. Real Mexican sugar skulls, in Scotland, in October? She bought 3 and ate them already.

Being around Remus was nice. Underneath that shyness, he was a bit bold and had a spark of mischief to him. And he was funny, which she wasn’t expecting. He was considerate. For the past month, he made sure to bring her some chocolate to wake her up during their night patrols. And he had somehow memorized how she had her coffee, because every Friday morning he greeted her at the Great Hall with a cup of the dark liquid (She wasn’t a morning person and he knew it). And he was handsome. God, was he handsome. Those green eyes captivated her every time he looked down at her, that small smile he sent her when she said something witty or when she tried and failed to do a British accent. And those scars. She really liked how the scars added to his persona, how they weren’t just there, but gave him something she couldn’t put her finger on.

Yes, Mariana was falling for her coworker.

She was about to leave when the door opened, Harry standing next to the open door.

“Professor Mondragon?” Harry asked.

“Oh, hi Harry!” She smiled. “I didn’t know Re-Professor Lupin was busy. Am I interrupting something?” 

“Not at all.” Remus said as he stood next to Harry. “We were just having some tea.” He smiled at her.

“Oh,” She said, “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“I was about to leave, actually.” Harry said.

“Really?”

“Yes, I’ve got to finish some homework while Ron and Hermione come back from Hogsmeade.” He turned to Remus. “Thank you for the talk and the tea, professor.” He said, making the older man smile.

“I’ll see you in class, Harry.” 

Both adults watched as the teenager left, then turned to face each other.

“How are you?” He asked her.

“I’m fine. How are you?” She replied.

“I’m fine, a bit tired. But I’m good.” 

They stood in the hall, quietly smiling at each other, not knowing what to say but it wasn’t awkward.  
“Hey,” Mariana started, “I was wondering if you’d like to go to Hogsmeade with me?” She bit her lower lip, her hands behind her back. “Honeydukes’ got sugar skulls, and with Día de Muertos being in 3 days, I want to get some.” She looked him straight in the eye, a coy smile on her face. “And maybe we could go get a butterbeer or something? I’ve heard they’re really good.”

He looked at her with a shocked face, eyes wide in surprise at her question. As he took longer to reply, the more nervous she became.

“Only if you want to, of course.”

Remus cleared his throat. “I’d love to, Mariana,” 

She winced inwardly. There was a _but_ coming.

“I’m not feeling too well. Maybe next weekend?” He said while scratching the back of his head.

“Oh yeah, totally.” She said quickly. “I, uh… I hope you feel better soon.” She replied as she started to slowly walk backwards. “I’ll… I’ll see you later, then. Bye.”

The moment she turned a corner and went down the stairs, she groaned and hit her forehead with her palm. _“¡Pendeja pendeja pendeja! ¡Eres una pendeja, Mariana! Tenías que hacer las cosas incómodas, ¿verdad?”_ (Dumbass dumbass dumbass! You’re a dumbass, Mariana! You just had to make things awkward, didn’t you?)

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night, Mariana didn’t see Remus during dinner at the Great Hall. She wasn’t really hungry, not after eating her feelings in sugar skulls. She sat down in bed reading when, about two hours after dinner had ended and an hour after curfew had started, her stomach started to growl.

 _“Ahora si tienes hambre, cabrón”_ (Oh now you’re hungry, asshole) She mumbled to herself. Groaning, she put on a robe over her pajamas, grabbed her wand and slipped her slippers on. 

With a faint whisper of _“lumos”_ , Mariana walked down towards the kitchen, apologizing to the portraits that woke up from her light.

Tickling the pear, she entered the kitchen and was surprised to see some house elves still up.

“Oh, it’s Miss! Miss hello!” Hospy, a female elf Mariana had kind of bonded with during her stay, ran towards the professor.

“Hospy what are you doing up so late?”

“Hospy still has to finish cleaning, Miss!” The tiny elf jumped up and down. “Why is Miss up?”

“I didn’t have enough for dinner and I’m suddenly very hungry, Hospy.” Mariana chuckled. “What do you have in the fridges? I wouldn’t want to bother you with cooking.”

“Hopsy is not bothered! Hospy likes Miss!”

“Thank you, Hospy, I like you too! But really, what leftovers do you have?”

Mariana let Hospy lead her down towards a table inside the kitchen, and waited for the elf to heat some spaghetti and meat loaf for her. She chatted with Hospy while she ate, and when she was done, thanked the elf and left.

Mariana was walking to her floor when she saw something moving outside the castle under the bright light from the full moon. No, not something. Some _one_. Gripping her wand tighter in her hand, she quietly walked outside the castle. She still didn’t know who Sirius Black was or what he did to end up in Azkaban, but all she knew was that he was dangerous and on school grounds. As she walked and got closer to the figure, she stopped.

 _Remus?_ She thought. _Is that Remus?_

She watched as Remus walked down the hill, getting closer to Hagrid’s hut. _¿A dónde va a esta hora, no sabe que hay un loco asesino suelto?_ (Where is he going at this hour, doesn’t he know there’s a crazy killer on the loose?) 

“Re-”

“Mariana, what are you doing out here?” 

She turned to see Pomona, wearing her pajamas, making her way towards her.

“I just…” Mariana started, turning back to where Remus had been, only to find him gone. “I thought I saw something.”

“Well, let’s go back inside. It’s not safe to be out at this time.” The plump woman said, leading Mariana inside. “With Dementors and Black out, we shouldn’t be outside the castle.”

Mariana searched the grounds quickly, but couldn’t find Remus anywhere. Maybe she did imagine things.

 _Ahora lo alucinas. Te afectó el rechazo, ¿Verdad?_ (Now you’re hallucinating him. Rejection hit you hard, didn’t it?)

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was normal for students to sleep in on Sundays, and Halloween was no exception. Mariana walked to the Great Hall at 9 in the morning and had her usual coffee, and noticed that, again Remus had not come down for a meal.

She noticed that he got sick very frequently, and that he started taking a weird potion Severus brought him daily. 

“It’s for my immune system”, he had said when she asked him one time over tea in his office. 

_Si, ¿pero que se enferme dos semanas al mes, **todos** los meses?_ (Yes, but he gets sick for two weeks **every** month?) Mariana thought as she took a sip of her coffee. _Necesita tomar algo más para mejorar su salud. Esa poción claramente no está funcionando._ (He needs to take something else to get healthier. That potion clearly isn’t working.)

Mariana spent her Sunday the same way she did, reading by the lake. She had to take advantage of the fact that it still wasn’t too cold for her to be at the lake, but her days by the body of water will soon be over for a while.

She returned to the castle for lunch and, again, didn’t see Remus. After lunch she went back to her office to finish checking some essays and, by the time she finished, it was dinner time.

She was surprised to see Remus sitting on his usual chair next to hers, taking a bite of a sandwich. He turned when she arrived and smiled at her. “Mariana, hello.”

“Remus, how are you feeling?” She asked as she took a seat.

“I’m better, thank you for asking.” He replied.

“You know, I could ask my mom for some of her remedies. She might be a _Naualiui_ \- I mean, a muggle - but God knows the woman has her own potions.” She said before taking a gulp from her goblet. “Maybe she’s got something to boost up your defenses?”

Remus smiled fondly at the woman. She was worried about his health, how sweet can she be? And he couldn’t forget how she asked him out to Hogsmeade. He hated himself for not going with her, but even with the wolfsbane potion in his system he still felt weak before and after a full moon.

“That won’t be necessary, but thank you. I really appreciate it, Mariana.”

Mariana blushed, averting her gaze from him and smiling. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but maybe, just maybe, he liked her back.


End file.
